| 3 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago Vermont considers banning lead from kids' toys
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(Anya Huneke, NECN: Montpelier, VT) - As the legislative session winds down in Vermont, lawmakers are putting serious thought into a number of bills, including one that would ban lead in children's toys. Bill supporters say it would set a precedent on how our country should aggressively tackle the issue.
NECN's Anya huneke has more.
Armed with a radioactive device, Todd Hobson made his way around a room at the Vermont State House in Montpelier Wednesday. As an Environmental Consultant, Hobson is trained to test for lead. I
A handful of products were laid out by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group - to illustrate how easy it is to find lead in everyday items. Many of such items are used by children, which is why VPIRG and some other advocacy organizations, are pushing for a bill in Vermont that would ban lead in toys and phase out lead in certain other products, such as plumbing fixtures and wheel weights for cars.
The bill was overwhelmingly approved in the Senate, and is now under consideration in the House.
Paul Burns of VPIRG: "No one really disputes the toxic nature of lead. What's surprising is that lead is still showing up in products that kids may use every day."
A number of other states have pursued legislation aimed at reducing toxins in toys, but supporters of the bill say if it passes, it will be the most comprehensive lead product safety legislation in the nation.
Senator Ginny Lyons, bill sponsor: "We've
taken a step that's a little ahead of other states, but maybe it's still not far enough."
Sen. Kevin Mullin, however, says the bill is impractical. He believes, while in the best interest of children, it could hurt, for example, plumbing and automobile companies.
Sen. Kevin Mullins: “We heard from a group of plumbers that some of the fixtures were not available - so it's pretty hard to put in place standards if you can't buy the fixtures to replace the standards."
But the bill's supporters say replacements do exist, and that steps need to be taken now since the federal government has been slow to act.
Paul: "Anything they're doing is inadequate to protect us from lead in products."
They believe, the more states do to get rid of lead, the greater the awareness will be of how serious an issue it is.
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